


Tug of War

by orphan_account



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-08
Updated: 2010-11-08
Packaged: 2017-10-13 03:04:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/132128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the younger Abe starts high school, he realizes he's had a crush on a certain pitcher for quite some time. When he acts on it, the elder Abe brother is forced to confront his own feelings for Mihashi... a clash of epic proportions ensues as they try to sort the whole mess out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tug of War

"What the hell are you so happy about?" Abe Takaya asked as he watched his little brother gleefully spoon far too much chocolate sauce onto his second ice cream sundae. It'd serve him right if he made himself sick on it, he'd made Abe sick enough with his nonstop cheerful humming ever since they'd gotten home from practice tonight.

Shun's cheeks pinked up as a shy but incredibly happy smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. "It's nothing," he murmured, offering the spoon to his older brother. "Just… a date." A date that was a long time coming, as far as Shun was concerned. It'd taken him years to figure out what that fluttering in his stomach meant every time he saw his crush, and then months to finally decide he had to do something about it. He was beyond happy that he had… the smile he'd received when he'd confessed obliterated any misgivings he might have ever had.

"A date, huh?" Takaya muttered, eyeing his brother as he took the spoon and put just the right amount of sauce on his small sundae. "Who is she? If it's that Rie or Rika slut--"

"No," Shun said softly, cutting his brother off before he could go any further. He was touched by his brother's concern, misdirected and overprotective though it was. This was the part he'd been dreading, telling others about what had happened. "It… it's not…"

"Well, who then?" Takaya asked, putting the lid on the chocolate sauce. "Is she a nice girl?"

Shun hesitated, biting his lower lip and turning an even deeper shade of pink, bordering on red now. It'd probably get out at some point anyway, and he was so eager to share his happiness with someone, even his grumpy brother, that he nearly blurted out the truth about his date. But he knew Takaya. "Promise not to tease me? _Swear_ it, Takaya?"

"Yeah, whatever. Who?" Takaya pressed, a little unnerved by how serious Shun had become all of a sudden.

That didn't sound like the most convincing promise ever, but it was good enough as far as Takaya was concerned. The younger Abe heaved a breathy sigh, closing his eyes and envisioning his new love, his heart soaring as he imagined the sun-bright smile and halo of light hair. "Mihashi."

"Mihashi… Ruri you mean?" Takaya hazarded, twisting the lid on the jar of sauce far too tightly so that it began to creak from the pressure. It was irrational, this sudden apprehension that gripped his heart, the odd sinking sensation in his stomach… it had to be the female Mihashi, though; his brother wasn't attracted to guys. Was he? It wasn't impossible…

Shun shook his head, oblivious to the turmoil he'd caused in his brother. "No. Ren."

The jar of chocolate sauce shattered on the floor.

~*~*~*~

Shun stood frozen to the spot, terrified of his brother's reaction. He looked like he wanted to throttle Shun, fists clenched tightly as he stared down at the broken glass and chocolate oozing on the floor. Tears began to prick at Shun's eyes and he blinked hard, forcing them back. Maybe it hadn't been the best time to come out to his brother, but he hadn't expected anything like this raw anger. He should have known better, should have known to keep his mouth shut and his joy private. But now that he knew he liked boys, liked _Mihashi_ in particular—and knew Mihashi liked him back—he didn't want to hide it anymore. It felt like something he should shout out loud.

But it looked like his own brother wanted to kill him for it…

"T-Takaya?"

Takaya was breathing hard, muscles aching from the way they were clenching, his whole body drawn taut as he tried to suppress the rage in him. Shun was going on a date with _Mihashi_? _His_ Mihashi, his mind supplied unhelpfully. This wasn't happening. _Couldn't_ be happening.

"You can't," he grit out through clenched teeth, raising his eyes to glare intimidatingly at Shun.

"You can't tell me what to do!" Shun yelled back, furious tears standing in his eyes. "I thought you'd understand. I never should have told you!"

Before Takaya could say anything, their father's voice boomed from upstairs. "Boys? What's going on down there? Everything alright?"

"Fine, dad! Takaya's just being a _jerk_ again!" Shun called up as he stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Takaya to clean up the mess he'd made.

~*~*~*~*~

The next day practice was excruciating. Shun couldn't look at his older brother as he joined the meditation circle not with the other first-years as he normally did but right beside Mihashi, who blushed and gave Shun a secret smile, which in turn made Shun beam.

It was salt in Takaya's open wounds. He'd always believed that smile was meant only for him. He squeezed Mihashi's other hand too hard at the painful thought, making the pitcher yelp and look at him with mixed fear and concern. That hurt too. They'd come so far, yet he still managed to do things that upset Mihashi for whatever reason. He just wasn't good at telling people how he felt or understanding them either. Not like his goddamn sweet, friendly little brother.

"Does A-Abe-kun's hand hurt?" Mihashi asked, glancing down at the bandages wrapped around Takaya's palm.

"I'm fine," Takaya said gruffly, though he was grateful for the attention.

"It was his own fault anyway," Shun added unhelpfully, smiling sweetly as Mihashi turned to look at him.

It was all Takaya could do not to get up and punch his little brother, but he restrained himself for the sake of the team. They were supposed to be welcoming to the new teammates, and Takaya had assured Momoe when Shun had made the team that of course he'd be a supportive senpai no matter what. He hadn't known then that being a supportive senpai would mean swallowing his rage, swallowing his heart, when his kouhai—his own little brother—stole the one person that mattered to him.

And whose damn fault was that?, Abe asked himself, unconsciously mirroring Shun's jab at him. Shun had had the guts to ask Mihashi out, while he hadn't… and yet it still felt like the worst betrayal.

~*~*~*~

Two weeks after Shun and Mihashi started dating, Shun was still on cloud nine.

 _Swt drms, Ren!_ he punched into his phone, snuggling into his pillow and pretending it was Mihashi he was burrowing against.

 _U 2, Shun-chan,_ came the near immediate response, making Shun's phone vibrate and flicker with light, his heart doing the same as he read the message from his boyfriend. It'd taken a week and a half of prodding, begging even, for him to convince Mihashi it was okay for him to use his given name instead of calling him "Abe-chan" to differentiate between his older brother. The honorific was still there, but it was progress as far as Shun was concerned. And it made his insides turn to jelly to hear his name on Mihashi's lips like that, just like they did whenever Mihashi smiled at him.

Takaya wasn't talking to him anymore. He wasn't spreading the knowledge around that Shun and Mihashi were a couple either, which was more of a surprise. Maybe it was out of respect for his pitcher, though; Shun knew Takaya actually cared about Mihashi's feelings, despite how carelessly he treated him sometimes. And Shun knew it wasn't because Takaya cared about _his_ feelings…

~*~*~*~

"F-for me?" Mihashi asked, staring wide-eyed at the tray of red bean buns Shun had brought for him at practice, nearly drooling at the sight of them.

"Of course! I made them special for you," Shun beamed, blushing as he held the tray out for his boyfriend to take.

"Thank you, Shun-chan!" Mihashi said, eagerly taking a bun off the tray and smiling that sun-bright smile before greedily bringing it to his mouth. "Mmph, s'good!"

"You can't eat that," Takaya interrupted, gripping Mihashi's wrist to stop him from taking another bite.

"A-Abe-kun?" Mihashi questioned, looking up at Takaya, confusion clear on his face.

Takaya hated it, how Mihashi could call his little brother by his given name but not him. Mihashi had known Takaya much longer, was much closer to him, so why? He took the half-eaten bun from Mihashi's hand and set it back on the tray, not bothering to even glance at Shun. "It's nothing but sugar and fat. You need to eat better to keep your strength up." It was petty, he knew, but he couldn't take the familiarity and sweetness between his brother and his Mihashi.

For a moment it looked like Mihashi might balk. But then it passed and he only nodded meekly at Takaya, eyes sliding guiltily toward Shun who stood stock-still with the tray held tightly in his hands. "S-sorry, Shun-chan. Thank you for the buns… I wish… I could eat them. M-maybe next time!"

Shun nodded curtly, biting the insides of his lips to keep from betraying how he felt. He wouldn't cry here, not in front of the whole team—not in front of his brother. He wouldn't let Takaya get to him, wouldn't let him spoil everything like that.

"It's alright," he said quietly once he felt more in control of his voice. "Maybe you could teach me some new pitches today, Ren?"

If he couldn't give his boyfriend a gift, then at least he'd spend as much time as possible with him, and since he was going to be a new reserve pitcher he had to learn as much as he could. Who better to learn from than the ace? Surely Momokan would approve.

Mihashi smiled, nodding his assent. "Yes! I'd like that--"

"Not today, Mihashi," Takaya cut in once again, his grey eyes flinty. "You have to keep your pitch count down. We have a game against ARC in a couple days and you're our ace. You have to be rested enough."

"But it's just a practice game!" Shun shouted, too loudly. Heads turned and now everyone was looking their way, some disapprovingly. Practice game or not, it still mattered. He bit his tongue and blinked back tears. It wasn't fair! He wasn't the bad guy here; Takaya was!

Mihashi looked crestfallen, shooting Shun another pitifully apologetic look. "Abe-kun is right. I should be careful today. Next time."

Without another word, Takaya dragged him off into the bullpen to hog all the pitches Mihashi was allowed for the day all to himself.

~*~*~*~

After practice, Shun waited for Mihashi outside the club room as the team filed in to clean up after a long day. Of course, Takaya was with him when he walked up. Screwing up his courage, Shun pressed ahead anyway and smiled. "Ren—I was thinking, since practice ends early tomorrow, we could go see a movie? If you want?"

Mihashi visibly perked and looked excited, but his expression changed as he looked to his catcher. He fidgeted and toed the dirt, looking uncertainly between Takaya and Shun. "Well…if it's okay…"

"Practice ends early for a reason; it's the day before the match against ARC. We all have to rest." Takaya crossed his arms, glaring sternly at Shun. "Stop pestering Mihashi to do things he's not supposed to."

"Sorry," Mihashi whispered, heading reluctantly into the club house.

Takaya turned to follow, but Shun grabbed his forearm and stopped him. They were alone outside the club house, everyone else having filed inside to change already. Shun was grateful for that.

"What is your problem?!" he shouted at Takaya, still gripping his arm.

"My problem?!" Takaya growled back, brusquely shaking off his brother's hand. "I don't have a problem; you just keep doing idiotic things! Think of Mihashi--"

"No, _you_ think of Mihashi! I'm trying to make him happy, but you won't let me!" Shun was close to tears now, his voice shaking as he yelled up into his brother's face. "He's _my_ boyfriend, Takaya! You can't have him!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Takaya grumbled, glaring daggers at Shun. He couldn't know; nobody knew—

"Stop taking everything from me! Every good thing… you always take it. I hate you, Takaya!" Shun couldn't stand it anymore. Face streaming with tears, he ran off towards his bike, leaving his older brother to stand and watch him go.

~*~*~*~

"Where's… Shun-chan?" Mihashi asked when Takaya entered the club house alone. They were nearly the only ones left by now.

"How the hell should I know!" Takaya roared, slamming his locker open. He immediately regretted it. Dropping down onto the bench beside a stunned and clearly frightened Mihashi, he put his head in his hands and tried to calm himself down. "Sorry. Not your fault," he said, voice a little more even.

"Abe-kun has been very angry lately…" Mihashi said quietly after a few minutes of tense silence.

Takaya opened his mouth to deny it, and found he'd be lying if he said it wasn't true. Sometimes Mihashi understood when he was really mad and when he was just upset. This was one of his more perceptive moments.

After wrestling with his words for a few more moments, he finally broke the silence. "You're going out with my brother."

"Oh!" Mihashi looked surprised, freezing mid-shoelace-tying. "Y-yes. I… we… yes."

"What do you see in him anyway?" Takaya grit out, shrugging off his dirty undershirt and picking up his clean one.

For a moment, Mihashi was quiet. He was fidgeting with his shoelaces, Takaya noticed. Avoiding the question?

"Shun-chan is… nice. A-and he likes me! We get along well…" Mihashi was pointedly looking everywhere but at Takaya. He could feel the glare well enough without seeing it. He couldn't very well tell Takaya the truth though, not when—not when Mihashi was so sure he'd never understand. Truth was, he couldn't have the Abe he wanted, so… he took what was offered. It was awful to think of Shun that way, though, and Mihashi immediately internally berated himself for being so mean, ducked his head and balled his fists in his hair. "Abe-kun doesn't approve?" he asked timidly.

"That's not it," Takaya answered gruffly, yanking his shirt on over his head. He hated how Mihashi looked like he was about to be hit, curled in on himself like that. He changed his pants and let out a frustrated sigh. There had to be some way to make this right, some other way than the only one he could think of…

"B-but Abe-kun doesn't want me to date his brother?" Mihashi ventured, folding his arms over his chest like broken wings as he watched his catcher dress. It hurt, but he had to figure this out. He hated having Takaya mad at him; the thought that Takaya might start to hate him, might stop wanting to be his catcher, creeping up though it'd been banished for a long time.

Takaya swallowed. The urge to deny it, to push these strange feelings aside, was so strong. But doing that had gotten him into this mess in the first place. He shook his head, sitting down on the bench beside Mihashi again.

For a minute he just sat there, feeling the warmth of Mihashi's thigh and shoulder against his own side where they touched, staring at the lockers in front of him. Timidly, Mihashi looked at him, waiting.

"I... like you, Mihashi," Takaya finally admitted, a dark blush rising to stain his cheeks. "Not just as a person. As… more. I want you to go out with _me_."

"Oh," Mihashi gasped, also blushing furiously. It was everything he'd ever hoped for, everything he'd ever wanted. So why did it make him want to cry so bad? Because Shun… "I… Abe-kun…I can't…"

Takaya cleared his throat and stood abruptly, gathering his things. He didn't want to hear it, the denial. It was hard enough confessing; how was he supposed to face rejection too? "Get some rest, alright? Make sure you eat when you get home and don't work too hard tomorrow. Save it for the game."

Mihashi watched as his catcher hurried out of the club house, leaving him alone, tears streaming down his face.

~*~*~*~

The next day, both Abe's and Mihashi were horribly off their game. Shun looked like he'd been punched in the face, both eyes were so dark from missed sleep. Takaya's pitch calling was off; practice hits were being made left and right. Hanai even hit a home run off a particularly good fastball that may or may not have been a mistake. Mihashi's control was all over the place, which was to say it just wasn't there, which was freaking him and the entire team out. To make matters worse, it'd started to drizzle, making the entire field slippery and unstable.

Mihashi hadn't returned any of Shun's text messages since practice yesterday, too confused to know what to say to his requests for dates since Takaya had said he _liked_ him. He didn't want to break it off with Shun, or rather didn't know how to without hurting him badly. Staring at Takaya's intense expression and being expected to pitch to him wasn't helping either.

Shun, for his part, realized something was up. When Takaya had stolen one of his eggs that morning, he'd dramatically dumped his whole plate into his brother's lap and screamed that he should just take it all before storming out the door and heading for school without him. It was childish, and stupid, and he couldn't help it; it hurt so bad to think that Takaya was keeping Mihashi from him just out of spite. He must have said something to Mihashi, because things had been so awkward that morning when he'd rushed to meet his boyfriend. It was like they barely even knew each other, Mihashi was so timid and formal. Shun had leaned in for a kiss and had gotten a face full of Mihashi's shoulder instead. Somehow, he knew, it was all Takaya's fault.

Takaya, meanwhile, was so preoccupied with trying to figure out how to _act normally_ around Mihashi now that he knew how he felt that he was doing a spectacular job of fucking it up. Instead of paying attention to the practice, he was thinking of things he could say that would make things less weird and somehow make Mihashi want to go out with _him_ instead of his brother. It was just making things worse in his head.

During mid-practice break things sort of…exploded.

"Sit next to me, Ren," Shun said, patting the spot next to him on the bench as Mihashi approached with a cup full of water, a towel draped over his shoulders to dry some of the rain.

"Mihashi's sitting with _me_ ," Takaya informed him, taking his pitcher by the wrist and guiding him across to the other side of the bench.

Without thinking of where he was or how big an audience they had, Shun jumped up and took a swing at his brother's head. "He's _my_ boyfriend; he's sitting with _me_!" Shun shouted, fist connecting with Takaya's damp shoulder guard.

"You don't get to decide that!" Takaya bellowed back, blocking another punch to his chest and admirably restraining himself from really hurting his little brother.

"Yes I do! Mihashi likes _me_ , don't you, Ren!" Shun retorted, shooting a desperate glance in the terrified pitcher's direction.

Takaya gripped his brother's wrists and held him still as he struggled to free himself, steely eyes on Mihashi, waiting for him to answer. _Do you?_ his expression asked.

It was enough to make Mihashi turn and run, crying, from the dugout, more confused than he'd ever been in his life.

"What the hell just happened?" Mizutani breathed in wonder as Izumi and Tajima ran after Mihashi.

"I think," Hanai interjected, taking up one of the least savory roles as captain as he approached the elder Abe and his now-limp brother, "you two better head home for today. We can't have this kind of disruptive behavior going on within the team the day before a match… We'll discuss punishment later."

Takaya nodded, muttering an apology to Hanai. Shun burst into tears and, for the second day in a row, headed straight for his bicycle instead of the club house. One of the other first years ran to catch up with him, along with Sakaeguchi.

The day wasn't even halfway over yet, and it was already a total disaster…

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued... this fic is turning epic-length (for me, anyway), so I figure putting it up in bits as I finish isn't such a bad idea. :) Also, I realize it's been a long time since I've added anything new to this one! But there'll be more soon; school has finally stopped eating me (for now). :)


End file.
